The Thanksgiving holiday barely gave us pause at the Freedom From Religion Foundation in our ongoing campaign to defend the U.S. Constitution.
Before the break, we raised the alarm about Project 2025 architect Christian nationalist Russell Vought’s plans to unleash hell in the second Trump administration as the director of the Office of Management and Budget. And we did a comprehensive roundup of Trump’s top nominations, which read like a “Who’s Who” of Christian nationalists and Project 2025 creators.
Lone Star State troubles
We also announced our plans to contact every Texas public school district to urge rejection of the bible-infused curriculum that the Texas Educational Agency has narrowly approved. The overarching goal of the Texas Educational Agency appears to suggest that such secular ideals of freedom and equality are based in Christianity — claims that are easily disproven.
After the break, we have focused on another dystopian development in Texas. A religiously motivated legislator there has introduced a bill that would ban websites and information providing reproductive health care options online. And the measure would make it a felony to raise funds for abortion care. “We urge states to safeguard reproductive freedom,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor, “and reject a model that kills more women.”
Our amicus brief urges prison access bar for Minn. ministry
We’ve been heavily engaged in other states much north of Texas. We urged in a friend-of-the-court brief an appeals court to uphold a district court ruling that limits a troubling prison ministry from continuing to operate in Minnesota. Plaintiff Anthony Schmitt, who calls himself a pastor, is simply the wrong party bringing the incorrect kind of claim, our brief concluded. That’s why the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals must affirm the decision of the district court.
N.J. injunction backtracks on our victory for taxpayers
We were disappointed over a recent judicial ruling that nudges open the door toward undercutting a major victory we obtained for New Jersey taxpayers a few years ago. The injunction threatens FFRF’s prior state court victory. However, FFRF legal counsel emphasize that the ruling is not final and does not achieve the larger goal of the churches to strike down the “no aid” provision of the New Jersey Constitution.
ABC News notices our objection to Texas curriculum
Media coverage of our efforts continued uninterrupted by the break. ABC National News made extensive note of our objections to Texas’ newly approved biblical curriculum.
“The Freedom From Religion Foundation, an advocacy organization centering on the separation of state and church, has criticized the curriculum, claiming leaders are determined to “turn the state’s public schools into Christian training grounds,’” the story said. “‘The curriculum targets the youngest, most impressionable elementary students, starting by introducing kindergartners to Jesus,’ FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said in an online statement ahead of the vote. ‘Religious instruction is the purview of parents, not proselytizing school boards. This is a shameful ruse by Christian nationalists in Texas who see the schools as a mission field.’”
Our hometown college paper does a video feature on us
Our hometown college paper, the Badger Herald, thought of us in the election’s aftermath, doing a nice video feature on our activities that incorporates interviews with FFRF Co-President Dan Barker and FFRF Deputy Legal Director Liz Cavell and provides a visual tour of our headquarters. You can watch it here.
An extensive interview with Dan Barker
Dan also did an extensive interview on “The Michael Shermer Show” touching on an array of issues, ranging from the current state of separation of church and state and the influence of Catholicism on the Supreme Court to his new book and the legal challenges we are tackling. View the discussion at this link.
La. media pays attention to us
Louisiana media covered a recent intervention of ours there.
“National organization Freedom from Religion Foundation sent a letter to the Ascension Parish School Board asking to end the practice of opening meetings with prayer after a parent raised concerns,” said a TV news report. “Hirsh Joshi with FFRF said there is nothing wrong with praying privately. The issue is incorporating it into official meetings. ‘This is a member-led prayer during government time, on government property, by a government actor,’ said Joshi.”
FFRF Maine Chapter President debunks ‘War on Christmas’
Ray Vensel, who is the president of the FFRF Maine Chapter, had a piece in a state media outlet with an interesting opening.
“I am also an atheist,” he began. “Some might expect me to unleash a salvo in the War on Christmas. This is wrong for several reasons, not the least of which is that there is no such thing.”
We have a winning streak
Our streak of victories continued. We were informed shortly before Thanksgiving that we had stopped prayer at an Illinois high school’s graduation ceremony. After our communique, the district agreed to comply with the Constitution. “Moving forward, the district will not schedule preplanned prayer, which will be reflected in future graduation programs,” Cowden-Herrick Community Unit 3A School District Superintendent Seth Schuler recently responded.
On returning to the office from Thanksgiving, we learned that we had successfully convinced the Parkersburg, Iowa, school district to halt coach-led prayer. “Government actors, like [the coach], may not lead prayer over a captive audience,” FFRF Patrick O’Reiley Legal Fellow Hirsh M. Joshi wrote to the district. After FFRF’s letter, the district investigated the claims and assured us that the practice wouldn’t continue.
Please give in honor of the Bill of Rights
A slightly belated reminder: You missed Giving Tuesday by a couple of days. We are rallying this year to raise $17,910 in honor of the adoption of the Bill of Rights in 1791. It goes without saying that all dues and donations are deductible for income-tax purposes. Please be generous!
The FFRF Action Fund’s likes and dislikes
Our legislative arm, the FFRF Action Fund, has been at it, too. It chose as “Secularist of the Week” MSNBC anchor Ali Velshi for his compelling recent report on how far-right forces (such as Oklahoma’s Ryan Walters) are trying to impose Christian nationalism on the country. And its “Theocrat of the Week” is a Christian nationalist author, Sydney Wolfe, who argued during a recent podcast appearance that atheists are as socially unacceptable as racists. The Fund also congratulated Reps. Jamie Raskin and Jared Huffman, the visionary co-founders of the Congressional Freethought Caucus, for their recent promotions in leadership roles in the House.
Secular legislators talk about their exemplary work
Rep. Jared Huffman was actually on our “Freethought Matters” TV show last week to talk about the secular pushback against the coming theocratic onslaught. You can watch the show on our YouTube channel. And on this week’s show, we have as a guest a stalwart legislator who is doing similarly invaluable secular work at the state level: Oklahoma Minority Whip Mickey Dollens. You can already watch the show here online or try to catch it on television Sunday.
A range of segments on our radio show
Our radio show is going strong, too. The week prior to Thanksgiving, Freethought Radio co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor discussed the “fine-tuning” argument with astronomer Kelsey Johnson, author of the new book, “Into the Unknown: The Quest to Understand the Mysteries of the Cosmos.” This week, the main segment is New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg describing the history and present dangers of Christian nationalism while accepting FFRF’s Clarence Darrow Award at our recent convention.
A fun ‘Ask an Atheist” episode — and a serious one
We had lots of fun doing a Thanksgiving special for our Facebook Live “Ask an Atheist” episode last week — and we’re sure you’ll have fun watching it, too. This week’s episode is in a different vein, with FFRF’s Matt Kenyon and Kat Grant speaking with social worker and activist Jason Van Ness about 10 common anti-LGBTQ-plus myths that the Christian right perpetrates.
Informative columns
FFRF Contributing Writer Kat Grant has a couple of informative write-ups. The one from last week deals with the congressional bathroom ban crafted due to Rep.-elect Sarah McBride. And the second piece is about an important case before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding trans rights. “It’s been a hard year for transgender people in the United States,” Kat writes.
Women dying is the point
FFRF Attorney Sammi Lawrence pens a powerful column on the effect that abortion bans are having on women. Women dying is the point, Sammi concludes.
It’s to stave off such horrible effects of religion on society that we persist in our efforts — regardless of breaks or holidays. And we’re able to keep going only because of you.
